


The Proper Way to Eat Anchovies

by Azumeowth



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 14:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5589841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azumeowth/pseuds/Azumeowth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lovino keeps getting his neighbor's pizza. He objects to Gilbert's chosen toppings.</p>
<p>Written for estehtarik for the Prumano Secret Santa 2015</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Proper Way to Eat Anchovies

**Author's Note:**

> Your coal stated excessive swearing, so I tried to limit Lovino's mouth. I hope it's okay!

The first time it happened, Lovino didn’t mind so much. Mistakes happen all the time, and the house numbers were very similar. His neighbor’s house was 1772 and his own nearby was 1773 with the bottom part of the three missing. The second time was annoying enough, but at least he didn’t have to pay for the pizza he didn’t order. His neighbor apparently only prepaid online. Like the first time, he left the pizza on his neighbor’s porch and rang the doorbell, then promptly went to his own house. In retrospect, Lovino should have told the pizza place that they were delivering at the wrong house, but by the third time, he decided to see exactly what kind of pizza his neighbor was ordering. He was disgusted by what he saw and marched next door with a pizza once more and rang the doorbell. This time, he waited until his neighbor emerged. He was taller than Lovino, with pale skin and even paler hair, but what stood out the most were his red-violet eyes.

 

“Oh, hey…you actually stuck around this time, I never got to tip you the other times.” Gilbert handed Lovino a wad of bills as he took the pizza from him. It took Lovino a second to realize what had just happened.

 

“What? No, I’m not your damn pizza boy. The moron keeps delivering these things at my house!” Lovino huffed and tried to hand him the money back. “Just because I’m Italian doesn’t mean I work at a pizzeria.”

 

“Eh, you’re not? That’s too bad; here I thought I had a cute pizza delivery person. Oh well, keep the money, you did still deliver it from your house, right?” Gilbert flashed a wide grin.

 

“That’s not necess—wait, what? No, never mind that. I’m here to tell you that your toppings are horrible.” Lovino didn’t miss the fact that he was called cute and tried not to blush.

 

“What’s wrong with them?” Gilbert blinked.

 

“You can’t have cheese AND anchovies on a pizza, it’s an abomination! And another thing… pork sausage too?” Lovino shot him a look of disdain.

 

“It’s _Italian_ sausage.”

 

“ _Che palle_! The only thing Italian about that sausage is the fennel in it!”

 

“And I suppose you could do better, right? Or is that just a stereotype?” Gilbert smirked as he leaned in the doorway with his pizza.

 

“I could do better than that slop, blindfolded!” Lovino declared.

 

“Prove it then, unless you’re just blowing smoke.” Gilbert chuckled and took out a slice of his pizza and began eating it. Lovino made a face at the act and glared at him.

 

“Fine! I will! Next week, I’ll make a pizza so good you’ll wonder why you’ve been eating tainted cardboard all this time.”

 

“You’re on. I’d invite you in to share mine, but well…you’ve already expressed your hatred of it, so I’ll see you next week.” Gilbert winked and shut the door, leaving Lovino to realize what he’d just agreed to do. The next week was New Years’ Eve, he berated himself for forgetting that little detail. Not that he really had any plans, if he was honest with himself. Surely his neighbor did, however, but he decided to fight the crowds at the markets just in case he wasn’t getting out of his situation.

 

As the week passed, it began to snow in Lovino’s neighborhood. He was very glad he had already gotten his fresh ingredients ready and doubly glad that his neighbor would be the one trudging over to his house if he truly wanted the pizza. As he thought about the situation, he realized he knew his neighbor’s name…Gilbert. It was always on the pizza boxes with his receipt. However, he hadn’t given his neighbor his own name at all. They had been neighbors for years, but both never really officially met. On December 31st, his doorbell rang and Lovino went to answer it. Sure enough, Gilbert was there, dressed in a snow-covered sweater and sweatpants.

 

“You actually came here of all places?” Lovino stared at him incredulously. “Don’t you know it’s New Years’ Eve?”

 

“Yeah, I know, but my friends are spending it with their lovers, and I don’t wanna be a third or fifth wheel, ya know?” Gilbert held up a bag. “I brought booze though.”

 

Lovino took the bag and produced a bottle of Champagne and looked it over. “Not bad, for being French and all…” He put the wine in a bucket of ice and pulled out a Sicilian red wine of his own to chill alongside it. “Alright, we’re doing two things here, the _Napoletana_ with anchovies and the _Salsiccia_. Never put them on the same pizza, that’s disgusting.” He snorted and began getting out already-prepared dough in bowls from the refrigerator and the sausage from the freezer. “I started this dough a couple of days ago; it has to sit in the refrigerator for 8 hours for two nights. Now we have to let it return to room temperature.”

 

“Alright.” Gilbert plopped down on Lovino’s couch to wait. “By the way, I don’t think we ever actually introduced ourselves. I’m Gilbert, your neighbor.”

 

“I noticed.” Lovino murmured under his breath before responding. “Lovino.” He walked over and sat on the couch as well, keeping his distance.

 

“What about you? I was sure I’d get over here and you wouldn’t be home.” Gilbert tilted his head as he looked at Lovino.

 

“My friend is with his girlfriend too, and like you I didn’t want to be the odd man out.” Lovino grumbled. “He’s too nice though, he said neither of them would mind, but _I’d_ mind.”

 

Gilbert grabbed Lovino’s remote and turned the TV on to a New Years countdown show. “Well, then I guess we’ll just have to spend the evening with each other, yeah?”

 

“Guess so…”

 

They watched television for two hours while the dough warmed up to room temperature. Lovino only got up once at the beginning of the two hour period to heat up his wood-fired oven, something Gilbert was shocked to learn he owned. Next, Lovino washed his hands and went to work preparing the dough for his Neapolitan style pizzas. Gilbert studied him as he kneaded the dough by hand and spread it out thinly.

 

“Hey, I can do that!” Gilbert exclaimed and washed his hands as well, then grabbed the other dough ball and began trying to knead it the way Lovino was doing.

 

“No, not like that!” Lovino smacked Gilbert’s arm and reached over to grab his hands. “You have to do it gently, like this.” He moved Gilbert’s hands so that he was kneading the dough gently from the center. With his eyes focused downward, Lovino missed the blush on Gilbert’s pale cheeks. When he was satisfied with Gilbert’s progress, he let his hands go and continued preparing his own pizza crust. Gilbert was strangely quiet as they stretched the dough. Lovino tossed his up in the air and spun it with a smirk on his face. When Gilbert tried to do the same, he nearly dropped it when it came back down. Only Lovino’s interference saved it from certain doom on the floor.

 

Lovino and Gilbert continued preparing the pizzas, with Lovino explaining where exactly to put the ingredients and how much to use. It didn’t take very long before both pizzas were done and put in the oven. While the pizzas baked, Gilbert looked over at Lovino.

 

“So…” He began hesitantly.

 

“Hmm?” Lovino didn’t look at him as he watched the time.

 

“Since you’re in kind of the same situation as me, I’m guessing you’re single?”

 

“Yeah, so what?” This time, he did look at Gilbert with a questioning grimace.

 

“So…do you like girls or guys?” Gilbert pressed.

 

“Huh? I like girls, but I dated a few guys in college, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.” Lovino shrugged. “Why?”

 

“I was just wondering…ah…”

 

“Well, spit it out! What is it?”

 

“Go out with me?” Gilbert blushed.

 

For a moment, nothing happened, but Lovino’s face turned a bright red as he stared at Gilbert. He cleared his throat and turned away while Gilbert’s expression began to fall. Lovino began to turn off the oven and take out the pizzas.

 

“I guess…it wouldn’t be bad if we tried it out.” Lovino murmured without turning, trying to hide his face. Gilbert’s face lit back up as he grinned. Once the pizzas were out of the oven and sat down to cool, he grabbed Lovino and hugged him, causing the shorter male to make an awkward sound in his throat at the sudden affection. “H-hey!”

 

“It’s almost midnight, can I kiss you?”

 

“Idiot…” Lovino squirmed in Gilbert’s embrace and slipped his arms around him. “Don’t ask, show some passion, dammit.” He leaned up and kissed his now-boyfriend just as the clock hit midnight.

 

So far, the new year was looking good for both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know, there's no actual pizza eating, the title is misleading. Also, it may seem rushed at the end, so for that I apologize.


End file.
